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Governance, Risk, Audit & Privacy · Foundational

Primary Account Number (PAN)

The unique payment card number identifying the issuer and cardholder account.

Definition

PAN is the defining element of cardholder data; if PAN is not stored, processed, or transmitted, PCI DSS generally does not apply. Stored PAN must be rendered unreadable using one-way hashes of the full PAN, truncation, tokens, or strong cryptography. When displayed, PAN must be masked to at most the BIN and last four digits unless a business need exists.

Example

Receipts display only the last four digits of the PAN.

Exam tip

Cardholder name and expiration date are protected only when stored with PAN.

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